1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to ingress and egress structures, and in particular to a variable size door assembly for the rear openings in vehicles, such as pickup trucks including beds with covers mounted over them.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various doors, gates, hatches and similar mechanisms have heretofore been devised for providing ingress and egress to various structures. For example, many vehicles include compartments which are selectively accessible through such mechanisms.
One such type of vehicle is commonly referred to as a pickup truck, and normally includes a bed located behind a cab and provided with a rear tailgate opening which can be selectively closed by a tailgate assembly swingable between a lower, open position and an upper position substantially closing the tailgate opening.
Pickup trucks are commonly manufactured with beds having open tops, and covers can be provided for enclosing them. Such pickup truck bed covers, when installed, provide enclosed compartments which can be occupied by people and cargo. Access to such compartments can be provided through openings formed in the sides of the covers, which can be selectively covered by windows; through openings in the backs of the covers, which can be selectively covered by rear windows; and through tailgate openings, which can be selectively covered by the vehicle tailgate. A disadvantage with providing both a rear window and a tailgate on a pickup truck-and-cover combination is that both the rear window and the tailgate must be open to provide relatively unrestricted access to the rear compartment. Such unrestricted access may be preferred when relatively large loads are to be transported.
For convenience in accessing the full width bed and cover rear openings, it may therefore be preferrable to provide a single door assembly which substantially covers both the tailgate and cover rear openings. However, such a single structure might be awkward and cumbersome to use due to its size. Therefore, an inner door assembly for ingress and egress by persons might be preferrable within the larger, overall door assembly.
Another possible problem with providing a single door assembly for pickup truck and shell combinations is that there are a number of different bed sizes with corresponding tailgate opening widths. Even among relatively small pickup trucks, both foreign and domestic, tailgate opening size differences are common. Although covers can sometimes be installed on beds with slight variations in width, it may be preferrable to provide matching covers for relatively complete coverage over the tailgate bed openings for weather tightness and for aesthetics. Pickup truck owners may prefer that the covers they mount on their pickup truck beds aesthetically coordinate with and match the pickup trucks. Therefore, unsightly gaps and joints between the door and the tailgate opening edges may be visually undesirable. However, dealers providing pickup truck covers and rear door assemblies, which can be sold in combination, might incur significant expense in maintaining inventories of rear door assemblies individually sized to fit various makes and models of pickup trucks.
The present invention addresses some or all of these concerns with previous pickup truck cover and bed door assemblies, which concerns can also be present with vans and other vehicles.